New web series gives sex education lesson with a fun twist

Kabir Sajid and Anand Tiwari

When Ashish Patil [head of Y Films] came and told us why he wanted to make a show about the embarrassing questions a child asks, he had a personal anecdote to narrate," says Anand Tiwari, who plays Anand Watsa or Papa in Y Films' Sex Chat with Pappu and Papa. He came home one day and found his son jumping on the bed saying f''', f''', f'''… over and over again. His wife told him that their son had heard her saying it on the phone and had been parroting it ever since. "Kids today are so smart and have so many questions. This series will try and answer some of them sensitively and without making anyone cringe," he says.

Kabir Sajid and Anand Tiwari play Pappu and Papa. Pic/Satej Shinde

Sex Chat with Pappu and Papa, that debuts on Y Films' YouTube channel on Tuesday, tells the tale of the Watsa family, where Tiwari as Papa and Kabir Sajid as Punit or Pappu are planning to give India a fun sex education chat.

Shot in 10 days, the show of five episodes also stars Sachin Pilgaonkar as Vishwanath Watsa, who is daddu, and who also gets an education along the way. They talk about issues that all children have questions about - masturbation, the origin of babies, periods and homosexuality - in an easy and uncomplicated way.

A still from Sex Chat with Pappu and Papa

"Why we cast Kabir, who is just seven years old, is because times have changed. Children as young as him are exposed to all that's around them in a de-sensitised manner, so they need to know about all this," says Tiwari. But Sajid, who you will have seen in advertisements and the Shahid-Alia starrer Shaandaar, had no clue what they were chatting about.

"That's because we didn't want to disturb the acting process too much. When he watches it later, he will get it," says Tiwari. Sajid says with a grin, "I didn't understand anything. I just spoke the dialogue. But, how did he mouth the dialogues in such a believable way if he didn't know head or tail of what they were talking about? "That's because I am very serious about acting," Sajid says matter-of-factly, and everyone cracks up.

His mother, Shireen, who is accompanying him, explains, "I am a biology professor and have taught at the university. You wouldn't believe it, but most of the time college students don't even know the basics of the reproductive system. So, when I read the script, I knew there was a need for such a show. I too have two sons, and I relate to this."

Sajid may have not understood the lines he was spouting, but he has asked his mom some of the questions that the show hopes to tackle - like where do babies come from and what are sanitary napkins used for, which Shireen described tactfully as "adult diapers for ladies". "So, we had a conversation where I told him what the show was about and that right now, all he needed to worry about was remembering the lines. That's all," says Shireen, who got a lot of calls from concerned parents who watched the trailer and were aghast that she had allowed her son to do the show. "I told them that as educated parents, we should be talking to our kids about sex and sexual habits.

At this point, Tiwari says, "That's why the tagline of the show is ‘sharmane ki kya baat hai'. Ever since we released the trailer a few days ago, we have been inundated with comments such as ‘now we can just make our kids watch this!'" Tiwari shares that the show, though directed at the teenage and young adults, will help everyone. For example, in the episode that deals with homosexuality, we deal with the grandfather's bias too and both Pappu and Daddu get a lesson in how homosexuality is not wrong at all."

And, in the episode on masturbation, though the focus is on the male habit, they do admit that women do it, too. Tiwari laughs, "Of course, we do! It's about each and every one of us."